Feed-water heater.



PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

T. J. GOOKSON.

FEED WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED LEE. 1. 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()EFIGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed February 1, 1906. Serial No. 298,963.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. (looxson, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feed-Tater Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in feed-water heaters, the purpose of which is to facilitate the precipitation and removal of matters contained in solution in the water to be purified-such, for example, as carbonates and sulfates of lime and magnesia the precipitation being accomplished by the addition in regulated amount of a salt-such as soda, for example.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the subjoined description of the improved apparatus, from the drawings accompanying said description, and from the claims in which the invention is summed up. In said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of one of my improved feed-water heaters; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view, upon a somewhat larger scale, of the pressure-regulator valve.

I shall not describe the general parts of the apparatus in detail, as it will be sufficient to state that in general, except as where herein specifically described, the apparatus is or may be like that shown in the patents previously granted to me, N 0. 542,331, dated July 9, 1895, and No. 582,888, dated June 30, 1896, to which reference is here made.

In the drawings, A represents the steamchamber B, the water-chamber C, the filtering-chamber," D, the settling-chamber; E, the down tube through which the water passes into the settling-chamber; F, the discharge-pipe for cleaning out the sediment in the settling-chamber; G, the filtering-floor between the settling-chamber and the filtering-chamber; H, a filtering-shield placed over the outlet from the filtering-chamber, and J the suction or outlet of the water to the boiler.

The tank for holding the chemical solution that is to be fed into the water-chamber is shown at K as consisting of a cylindrical tank placed with its bottom upon a level with the bottom of the settlingechamber. Above this solution-tank is an ordinary steam-pump L, (not shown in detail in the drawings,) but which may consist of an ordinary steam-cylinder andpiston connected to and reciproeating an ordinary pump-cylinder and piston provided with the customary valves, a description of which is wholly unneccessary to those skilled in the art. This steam-pump L may be driven by steam from the boiler that is fed by the apparatus tln'ough the pipe M and may exhaust into the steam-chamber A through the exhaust-pipe N. The pump is connected by the suction-pipe O with the liquid in the solution-tank, and the dischargepipe P of the pump is connected with the solution feed-pipe Q, provided with a controlling-valve It. The pipe Q leads to the waterchamber B in two branches Q In the branch Q is located a sight-glass S, by means of which the operator is enabled to see that the solution is being fed at a proper rate to the water in the chamber B. The solution is fed through the lower branch Q, the upper branch being an equalizing-pipe for the sight glass to prevent pressure in the heater from forcing water back through the sight-glass. Connected to the pipe P .is a down pipe T, between which and the said pipe P is a pressureregulator valve U, (shown in detail at Fig. 2,) in which IN is the movable valve, w its seat, w a coiled spring, one end of which rests against the valve w and the other end againstthe end of a screw 10 operated by the handwheel 10*, and w is a jam-nut for fixing the screw in its adjusted position. By setting the screw farther in or out the resistance of the valve l/V against pressure is increased or diminished, and thus adjusted. The result is that by regulating this valve the pressure in the pipe Q is increased or diminished, for it will be seen that the pump in forcing the liquid solution into said pipe Q will simultaneously force it also against the regulating-valve, and when the capacity of the pipe Q as regulated by its controlling-valve R is exhausted the regulating-valve will be forced open more or less by the pressure of the liquid from the pump, and the surplus liquid will be forced through the down tube T into the solution-tank. The result of this will be that a regulated supply of the liquid will be passed into the water-chamber B and a portion of the solution lifted by the pump will be returned to the solution-tank, thus keeping the liquid in said solution-tank con tinuously agitated, with the result that the salts contained do not have any opportunity to settle or crystallize, which has been a great difficulty in such apparatus as employ chemical solutions.

Y is a water-pipe for supplying water to lows: The steam-pump L being started, the chemical solution in the tank is drawn up into the pump and forced out through the pipe P against the regulating-valve U, which permits a portion of it to flow back into the solution-tank through the pipe T, where it causes the solution in the tank to be continually agitated. A regulated portion of the chemical solution, the amount being governed by the controlling-valve R, passes up through the pipe Q and branch Q in cluding the sight-glass S, into the water'- chamber B, where it mingles with the hot water contained in said chamber in exactly such proportions as the operator may desire. The agitation of the solution in the tank prevents crystallization of the chemical salt either in said tank or in the pump or any of the pipes, as the solution is kept in constant motion and therefore cannot settle or crystallize. The hot feed-water thus provided w th the chemical precipitat ng salt passes down through the down tube E nto the settling-chamber D, where the impurities-for example, carbonates and sulfates of lime and magnesia-are precipitated to the bottom of the settling-chamber, while the supernatant water rises through the filtering-floor G and filtering material in the chamber C and passes out through the perforated plate H to the suction or boiler supply-pipe J. The settling-chamber D is from time totime washed out through the discharge F to remove the deposit. The apparatus above described operates continuously with the utmost regularity when the proper amount of feed of the solution is once arrived at and the valves properly adjusted, and there is never any clogging or failure on account of crystallization of thesolution in the tank or its pipes.

I claim 1. The combination of the feed-water heater, a solution-tank, a pump having means for withdrawing solution from the tank and delivering it to the heater, and a solution discharging and agitating pipe leading directly from the pump to the tank and discharging under the force of the pump into the solution to be agitated, substantially as set'forth.

l l l 2. The combination of the feed-water heater, a solution-tank, a pump having suitable pipes leading to the said tank and to the heater, a surplus-solution-discharge pipe communicating with the pump dischargepipe and'arranged to cause, by the discharge therefrom, an agitation of the contents of the solution-tank, and a pressure-regulated valve arranged to control the surplus-solutiondischarge pipe, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a feed-water heater, of a solution-tank, a solution-pump for drawing the liquid from the solution-tank and forcing it into the feed-water heater, a controlling-valve for controlling the amount of solution delivered to the feed-water heater, and a pressure-regulating valve constructed to yield and thus maintain a constant pressure from the pump, and a return-pipe con nected to the pressure-regulating valve for returning the surplus solution to the solutiontank and thus constantly agitating the contents of said tank, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the feed-water heater, the solution-tank, the pump, a suction-pipe leading from the tank to the pump, a discharge-pipe leading from the pump, a branch pipe leading downward from thesaid discharge-pipe to the heater and having the sight-glass, the upper branch pipe connect ing the heater with the dischargepipe, the solution-agitating pipe leading from the discharge-pipe to a point within the tank, and the pressure-regulated valve arranged to control the said solution-agitating pipe, sub stantially as set forth. v I

5. The combination with a feed-water heater, of a solution-tank, a solution-pump for drawing the liquid from the solution-tank and forcing it into the feed-water heater, a controlling-valve between the pump and the heater, and a return-pipe leading from the pump at a point between the pump and the controlling-valve for returning the surplus solution to the solution-tank and thus agitating the contents of. said tank, the force of discharge of such surplus solution being increased by the controlling-valve, substan tially as set forth.

THOMAS J. COOKSON.

Vitnesses:

O. C. EVANS, SAML. S. CHURCH. 

